


Heights, Frights, and Hasty Flights

by HungryLibrary



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: And worried Elsa, Don't read if birds freak you out, Fluff, Not really overprotective, Oh and some seagulls, Or roofs, Other, Seeing as it's Anna, There is a warm hug, These two are so unbelievably inutterably cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-24
Updated: 2014-01-24
Packaged: 2018-01-09 20:34:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1150506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HungryLibrary/pseuds/HungryLibrary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was supposed to be a peaceful stroll through the Palace grounds... </p>
<p>Then Elsa discovered one of her sister's hair-raising means of entertainment, and nearly earned her first grey hairs. </p>
<p>How did Anna survive all those years without Elsa watching over her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heights, Frights, and Hasty Flights

 

The Queen was not quite used to spending time outside, not even in the confines of her own palace courtyard.

It was wonderful.

Blue sky above a warm early-autumn day, with just the familiar faces of the staff and regular visitors to greet her as she walked between a few golden trees.

Smiling into a chilly gust of wind, she wondered what could be keeping her sister indoors on a day like this.

Anna had not been in her room when Elsa look in, and none of the Queen’s casual inquiries had yielded anything from the servants, yet she knew her sister would not have left the Palace without first attempting to drag Elsa along.

So what was her little sister up to…?

As Elsa pondered, a shadow passed across the ground before her. In a flash it climbed the nearby palace wall, drawing Elsa’s eyes up to the gull who cast it.

The seabird swooped low over the roof, one of many who were crowding, like a parade of children’s kites, around a young woman as she tossed up scraps of bread for them to catch.

With a thud, Elsa’s heart skipped a beat and began to thunder madly in her chest.

“Anna..?”

What was she doing on the  _roof!?_

“Anna-!” Terrified, Elsa just managed to bite back her cried, a cry which could startle Anna into losing her balance and-

Fists clenched in her skirts, Elsa took a slow breath, eyes never leaving the precariously perched figure of her sister, who seemed utterly unaware of the fear she was inspiring below.

The Queen freed her hands as she hovered beneath the roof, her mind racing with variables such as wind and inclines, trying to map out where to place the cushion of snow in case that Anna did fall-

“Gooday, your highness!”

Ice exploded from under Elsa’s heels at the sudden shout of a passing stable hand.

“It really is a great day!” Anna called back, pausing so she could lean over the side of the steeple and nearly give her sister a heart attack.

“Oh hey, Elsa!” The Princess chirped, having apparently spotted the woman standing in the center of an off-season frost.  “You finished with all those papers and seals and stuff? We need to get out and do something while the sky’s still bright!”

She was grinning down from four stories up without the slightest hint of fear.

Possibly because Elsa was currently afraid enough for both of them.

“Anna!” If a random passerby was not enough to startle the princess, then a deserved scolding would do no harm. “Come down from there before you fall! Now!”

Sun streaked braids fluttered in the breeze as Anna tilted her head quizzically.

“Fall? I’m not going to fall, Elsa.”

“I will be convinced of that once you are on solid ground again!”

“No, I mean-“ She was actually laughing! Elsa had always known her sister was the more reckless one, but this was simply ridiculous.

“-I’ve been doing this for years! Never once fell, not even kinda almost fell. Here, watch!”

Elsa could hardly look away, though it was certainly not a sight she had ever wanted to see.

Bread basket in one hand, Anna stood up with a grin, and began walking along the steeple’s ridgepole.

She placed her feet without so much as glancing down. The wind tugged at her skirt and hair, but Anna remained perfectly upright, her posture better than Elsa could ever remember seeing before.

Her expression was radiant as she reached the edge and, so quickly Elsa did not even have time to gasp, twirled on the spot before marching back to her starting point.

“See?” Anna beamed, bowing theatrically as some of the other watchers applauded jovially. “Perfectly safe! I did scale a mountain last spring while looking for you, remember? Heights are no challenged to your sister!”

Trying to find her breath, Elsa clasped her hands together, only to find that they were shaking uncontrollably. 

“Please.” Her hands were not the only part of her shaking now. “Anna, please? You can feed the gulls just as well from down here. W-we can feed them together... Please come down.”

It was hard, from this distance and angle, to clearly see her sister’s face. Still, Elsa thought she recognized something about the way Anna’s shoulders fell loose, the faint droop as her silhouette slowly relaxed.

The sight brought to mind a moment in the silent snow. A smile soft with understanding, a gaze both warm and piercing… a quiet voice with such strong and simple words.

“… Alight. I’ll be right there, Elsa- Meet you in one second.”

It took more than a second, but less than a minute.

Then Anna was darting out the doors and straight into Elsa’s waiting arms- alive, unhurt, and irrepressibly happy. 

“Are you going to apologize for scaring me half to death, or not?”

The words were a bit muffled by Anna’s shoulder, but still clearly legible at such a non-existent distance. 

“Sorry.” Said Anna impishly, her grin pressing into the crook of Elsa’s neck. “Next time-“

“I _forbid_  there to be a next time.”

“-Next time,” Anna continued blithely on “I promise to take you up there with me, just in case I do need rescuing. Okay?”

Elsa merely hugged the younger girl closer still and remained quiet for a very long moment.

“… Every time. You need to promise me you will not go onto the roof alone, ever again.”

She pulled back reluctantly, just far enough to fix her sister with a serious stare.

“Do you promise, Anna?”

Sea green met icy blue. Anna hummed an affirmative, absentmindedly playing with Elsa’s braid and the high collar of her formal dress.

“’Hmm’ is not the answer I am looking for.”

Anna giggled as Elsa frowned at the lack of a proper response, then leaned forward to place a quick kiss on her sister’s pale cheek.

“I, Princess Anna of Arendelle, do solemnly swear to never again scale the Palace roofs without my sister’s company or consent... Because she’s a worrywart and I don’t want to worry her- no matter how cute it makes her look!”

And like that, Anna slipped from the Queen’s embrace.

With a laugh she linked their hands, dragging the red-faced monarch off through the open gate, the two of them side-by-side.Together, as they always would be. 

 

... including five minutes later, when they came charging back across the courtyard, an over-eager flock of gulls followed hot on their heels.

The royals of Arendelle made it to the palace just in time.

"Close the door, close the door, _close the door!_ "

Anna literally fell across the lintel as Elsa propelled her inside, both of them flush-faced from the sudden sprint, and in Anna's case, some panicked yelling.

With a shove from Elsa and a good kick from Anna, the door slammed shut a second before the first hungry beak crashed into it.

Then a sound like a freak hailstorm filled the entrance hall, and both sisters braced themselves against the rattling wood, now laughing, now yelping as a particularly crazed bird made impact.

“ _These_ are the ‘poor little things’ you like to feed?” Gasped Elsa, smiling in spite of her incredulous tone.

“I don’t know!” Anna was looking positively flabbergasted. “They’ve never done anything like this before! Did you see them dive for us? That’s how I used to imagine dragons would swoop down, right before they carried off some innocent little sheep- Gah!”

_That_ seagull had certainly built up quite a bit of speed before ramming them. Whatever would the head of staff say when he saw the remains of the front door?

Well, in for a snowflake, in for a storm. Elsa spread her fingers wide upon the polished wood and let the ice go trailing out.

She pulled away as the frost sealed across the door, making sure to gently tug Anna along with her.

“Will that be enough, or..?”

The Princess took a moment to wobble around and inspect the door. A low whistle followed, bringing the heat back into Elsa’s cheeks.

“Oh yeah, that looks pretty darn indestructible. We should be good, I think!”

“So long as they don’t try any of the windows.” The Queen quipped, eyed the nearest such window with mild concern.

Anna gulped nervously.

“Maybe we should spend the rest of today indoors. Many doors. Nice, solid, ice-and-snow-locked doors.”

“The library, then?”

“Perfect.” Anna grinned and looped her arm around Elsa’s own, steering the older girl deeper into the safety of the palace walls.

“Wonder if there’s a book that can tell us why the birds suddenly hate royalty?”

“Perhaps they are under an enchantment.”

“Ooh, spells are cool, especially yours! Heh, ‘cool’ get it? Because you’re-”

“’Cool’. Yes I do get it, silly…”

But Elsa did not feel cool at that moment. 

She felt warm.

Very warm, especially where their arms linked and Anna's shoulder occasionally brushed against hers. And there was warmth in her face which their recent run could not entirely explain away. 

She was spending the day with her sister. Spending it in laughter and chatter, just her and Anna, like they used to be. 

And it was  _wonderful_. 

 


End file.
